There is a need for a device that allows pets, such as large dogs, to walk up to and down from elevated surfaces, so that the pet is not required to risk injury while jumping up to or down from the elevated surface, and so that a pet owner or handler is not required to risk injury to either the pet or himself/herself in attempting to lift the pet up to or down from the elevated surface. It is also desirable that the device be lightweight, and collapsible to a compact folded size so that it may be easily transported and handled by persons carrying or setting up the device. It is further desirable that the device be capable of quick adjustment to operate between surfaces that are located at various heights from one another.
Prior devices involving fixed or folding ramps do not work well for use in meeting the above described needs for several reasons. First, pets such as dogs have difficulty in walking down a ramp, and tend to walk off the edge of the ramp, because they cannot see the ramp below them. The angle of ascent/descent of a ramp which can be readily negotiated by the pet must typically be rather shallow, making the ramp too long to be useable in tight spaces, and difficult to stow, particularly if the ramp is not foldable to less than its fully extended length.
Experience has shown that devices using steps work better than devices using ramps, because pets become acclimated to negotiating steps during day-to-day activities. Experience has also shown that pets can easily negotiate substantially steeper angles of ascent and descent while using staircase-type devices. The steeper angle of ascent and descent and construction of staircase-type devices also helps pets to ascend or descend, without walking off of the edges of the steps, because the animal can see the steps above and below them, while ascending or descending, more readily than they can see a ramp surface. The greater angle of ascent/descent also allows a device using steps to be shorter than a ramp would be for a given difference in elevation between the elevated surface and the floor or ground.
Prior devices using steps, however, whether rigid or folding, fall short of meeting the needs and desirable attributes described above. It is desirable, therefore, to provide an improved apparatus and method for allowing pets to ascend to and descend from an elevated surface, in a manner that better fulfills one or more of the needs and desirable attributes described above.